An Oakland County organization representing military veterans and others with disabilities has filed a federal lawsuit alleging Oakland Township officials of engaging in unfair housing practices and violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The suit was filed Friday, Dec. 5, in the Eastern District Court in Detroit by the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America.
The lawsuit centers around a proposed senior living development which was approved by township officials but later denied by a public vote.
The 42-acre, 238-unit Blossom Ridge development was approved by the townships previous leaders in August 2012 before being reversed by a more-than 2-to-1 margin in a 2013 vote after a petition drive landed the issue on the ballot that fall.
Oakland Township has engaged in one or more discriminatory housing practices under the Federal Fair Housing Law, read a copy of the suit available on the Oakland Township Watchers website. (The township) has refused a reasonable accommodation to allow development of a multi-family housing development for the elderly and disabled.
The suit insists there is an inadequate amount of available affordable housing for veterans and the disabled due, in part, to the townships zoning regulations, which do not favor such housing.
There is a limited supply of safe, affordable housing in Oakland County and Oakland Township, in particular, the suit says.
Township Supervisor Terry Gonser took issue with the groups assertion and added the suit had not been delivered to the township as of Monday morning.
Thats just absurd, he said. We have disabled veterans living in the township.
We meet zoning requirements for all types of homes. The township has a full spectrum of housing opportunities.
The suit states there are nearly 2,500 veterans suffering from a service-related disability within 10 miles of the proposed development site at the northwest corner of Adams and Dutton roads on the townships southwest side.
Theres a shortage of suitable housing for paralyzed veterans and other persons with disabilities in general, the suit says.
Gonser said the suit is similar to a 2013 fair housing complaint filed by his predecessor, Joan Buser, the MVPA and the developer of the project. The township has yet to be informed of the result of the complaint, Gonser said.
Gonser said the development originally called for upscale single-family housing, but was later modified to a senior living facility.
The size of it significantly (concerned) residents, he said. Veterans were never even mentioned in the use of the facility. This was purported to be progressive senior living.
The suit says opponents of the project cited concerns about transient people passing through the township as well as the presence of Alzheimers patients who may be prone to incidents of unfortunate events, as well as a reduction in property value.
The group also contends many of the townships current leaders, including Gonser, parlayed their opposition to the project as a central issue to gain election in 2012. The turnover in township leadership which occurred has resulted in an unfavorable political climate for the development to proceed, the suit alleges.
Under the Fair Housing Act, the township has an affirmative duty to reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities, the group asserts.
Township attorney Daniel Kelly and the attorney for the Bloomfield Hills firm representing the veterans group could not be reached for comment.
A representative from the organization also could not be reached for comment.
The MPVA, based in Novi, represents veterans with spinal cord injury or disorders and others with disabilities to improve their quality of life, according to its website.
The township expects to be served with the suit later this week. The townships board of trustees meets Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., but Gonser did not expect the lawsuit to be among agenda items for the meeting.
